Make Azeroth breathtaking

"It's not free. Their remaining wages will be settled in one lump sum after the project is completed in Stormwind—by then, Stormwind should have returned to its former glory, and paying the stonemasons' guild won't be a problem at all—to be honest, my son is a member of that guild, and he's very proud to have participated in such a project."

"I see..."

Thinking of the "fine" tradition of human nobles daring to default on even the money owed to the Hot Sands Consortium, Tannis frowned, wanting to remind the old man in front of her, but in the end, the old man's radiant expression only made her words turn into a sigh.

"Hey……"

——————————Dinner————————

Fine wine, delicious food, beautiful clothes, jewelry, beautiful women...

It's hard to imagine that when Stormwind was in ruins, its nobles would still be interested in holding banquets, and in fact, they would continue to be extravagant.

Normally, outsiders and merchants are not allowed to attend such banquets, but Tannis is a human and the daughter of a goblin baron from Ratchet—even if this baron is not the same one—so she received an invitation to the banquet after selling luxury goods from Kamlido several times in Stormwind.

However... this banquet wasn't so friendly to Tannis... um...

"I'm very sorry, I can't dance and I don't want to learn."

Tanis, holding a glass of juice in her right hand, politely declined an invitation from a boy who looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old. This was the third boy she had turned down.

Well, she knew very well that attending the banquet would inevitably lead to these headaches. Unless the territory happened to have mines, the output of the land alone could not support the luxurious lifestyle of many nobles. Therefore, having a caravan or something to do business and make money was one of the best ways for most nobles to make money. As the adopted daughter of the lord of Ratchet, one of the major cities in Camlido, of the Hot Sands Consortium, how could there not be nobles trying to "drag" her there?

She had no choice but to attend this banquet, since her most famous identity in Stormwind City was that of a jewel merchant. Could she possibly not participate in the regular activities of her clients' social circles?

Customer first, customer first, customer first...!

"You don't like this kind of occasion?"

Just as Tannis was suppressing her emotions with muttering to herself, a soft and gentle female voice sounded in her ear, and a woman with black hair and black eyes, wearing a jet-black dress, and even her accessories were black pearls and dark gemstones, walked to Tannis's side.

"Earl Presto".

Tanis stood up and gave a slight bow.

"The pearls you sent are of very good quality, I am very satisfied."

Countess Presto gently touched the necklace around her long neck, which, strung with small black pearls, reflected the light of the hanging lamp, making it exquisitely beautiful.

"My pleasure."

"I'll tell those boys not to bother you; after all, it's not gentlemanly to bother a lady."

Before Tannis could respond, the newly risen countess of power in the Storm Kingdom strode away with elegant steps.

"call……"

Tanis wiped a little sweat from her forehead. The moment she saw Countess Presto, her long-dormant memories screamed as if the Countess were an extremely dangerous being. This scream made Tanis want to stay away from her for a moment.

What alarmed Tannis even more was that the mechanical assistant in her pocket automatically switched to attack preheating mode the moment Countess Presto arrived—something that had never happened before!

'What exactly is Countess Presto?'

II. Jadeite Mine

"Ugh... I really hate these kinds of situations..."

After finally getting through the meeting, Tanis returned to the Ratchet City office in Stormwind, located between the outer and middle rings of Stormwind. She threw herself onto the soft bed in her bedroom, her eyelids drooping.

However, just as she was about to drift off to sleep, a knocking sound forced her to pull herself out of the bed.

"Mr. Exploding Bolt, I hope you're not bringing up something trivial."

Despite being grumpy in the morning, Tennys opened the bedroom door anyway.

"Several families have sent representatives, hoping to discuss a business deal with us."

"Business... Tell me, what kind of business do you have to discuss in the middle of the night?"

Tanis splashed water on her face, forcing herself to wake up.

"Their family was in the jewelry business before the fall of Stormwind. Now, they hope to rebuild their supply chains, but clearly, they can't find any reliable suppliers in Stormwind right now..."

"So that's why they came to us?"

Tanis sat in the chair, frowning as she began to consider the pros and cons.

Undoubtedly, she now has the right and the means to refuse those nobles and continue to monopolize the high profits from selling jewelry. However, if she does so, who knows if those nobles will, once they catch their breath, use 'non-violent' means to 'amicably' 'expel' her from the Stormwind Kingdom's market? It's true that she is the adopted daughter of Baron Gazlowe of Ratchet, a major city of the Gadgetzan Consortium, but the problem is, how can a powerful dragon suppress a local snake? After Stormwind recovers, it's inevitable that other jewelry merchants will gradually enter this market.

However, there are also problems if we cooperate with them. One of the biggest problems is pricing power. Cooperating with nobles means they will inevitably take a large share of the pricing power in jewelry. If we make a mistake, the lion's share of the profits will go to the nobles who have joined forces. And there is also a very real problem, which is...

After a long while, Tennys raised her head.

"Do they now have the money to take goods from us?"

"No, but they're willing to use other things as bargaining chips."

"Ha, if it's just a bad check, tell them it's off the table."

"It's not an empty promise, but some mines, some of which have been partially developed, including one gold mine."

"Ok?"

Tanis was now puzzled. Although she knew that Stormwind Kingdom was not only rich in timber and agricultural products, but also had mineral resources that surpassed most human kingdoms, using mines as collateral... Who didn't know that dwarves were the best at mining in Azeroth, and goblins were second best? Using mines as bargaining chips, weren't they afraid that when they wanted to buy them back in a few years, they would find an empty hole?

"Although they didn't reveal the details, I've already found out that those mines... all have some problems, and if they can't be resolved, they basically won't make any profits."

"Landslide? Flooding? Hard rocks?"

Tanis rattled off several of the most common problems in the mines.

"They were kobolds. When Stormwind Kingdom fell, some kobolds migrated here with the orc tribes. They used some of the mines as shelter, and then, you know..."

Baoshuan spread his hands, looking like he thought, "Those guys aren't skilled enough to even handle a kobold."

"This deal... might be a good one?"

Tannis was somewhat tempted. Although trading back and forth between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms was a lucrative business, the long trading cycle was a fatal flaw. If she could acquire a few mines in Stormwind Kingdom that could reliably produce some ore, there would be many benefits in all aspects.

"If we can deal with those kobolds, then this deal will be worthwhile."

"very good......"

Tanis clapped her hands.

"I'll go and investigate in person tomorrow."

—————————The second night, Elwynn Forest, Jade Mine Area——————————————————

As one of the largest main mining areas in the Kingdom of Stormwind, this mining area is not entirely owned by the king. About half of the nobles in Stormwind City have a certain say here. However, most of them do not choose to mine themselves, but instead transfer their mining areas to the Wrynn family—the royal family of Stormwind City—and then receive a fixed share of the profits every month.

Some mines are handed over to others, while others are dug independently. Assuming reliable technology, digging one's own mine is undoubtedly much better than handing over the profits, provided, of course, that the mine is operational...

"There are sentries..."

Using camouflage to blend into her surroundings, Tannis twirled her night-vision binoculars, carefully observing the distant mine entrance.

A large tent, clearly made of military equipment, was erected at the entrance of the mine. A flag bearing the family crest was planted above the tent, and a sentry leaned against a pillar, looking idly at the entrance.

'There's no workers' camp, and no workers either. The guards are mainly focused on the inside of the mine, not the outside. It seems the rumors about this mine are indeed true...'

After putting away her binoculars, Tannis sat down against a tree and began to think. There was definitely something wrong with this mine that might be used for trading. What she wanted to figure out now was how many kobolds were in the mine, and whether the small number of troops she had brought could deal with them.

'Obviously, the guard at the door won't let me in. The camouflage isn't very reliable during rapid movement, so I'll have to resort to some underhanded tactics.'

Tannis pulled out a bunch of things and started fiddling with them. A few seconds later, a lifelike 'wolf head' appeared in front of her.

'go!'

——————————————Entrance to the mine————————————————————

As usual, Peter leaned on his weapon, yawning as he stood guard at the mine entrance. Although the news was blocked, he already knew everything that was happening inside the mine.

After all, it was an open secret among the noble circles associated with the jade mines that some of the mines had been used as hideouts by the kobolds.

However, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning this matter. Firstly, Stormwind City really couldn't spare the manpower to clear out the kobolds, so mentioning it would be useless. Secondly, these mines were quite suitable for swindling some out-of-town merchants. Whether it was used as collateral or sold, the profits that could be obtained from the mines were not small.

"Ha...when will this ever end...? Oh well, I'll go get a drink..."

Just as he was about to go back to his tent for a drink, a mournful wolf howl suddenly rang out, making his hair stand on end.

"A pack of wolves?"

A faint green light appeared in the forest grass a little further away, and the experienced Peter realized that he was 'surrounded' by wolves!

Without hesitation, he crawled into the tent. He drew the curtain, leaned against the cabinet, minimizing his potential attack range, and waited anxiously for the wolves to attack.

Then... several tens of minutes passed, and nothing happened.

'Looks like they were just passing by...'

Peter breathed a sigh of relief, poured himself something, and needed to calm himself down.

However, he had no idea that in those short ten minutes, a small figure had already slipped into the mine shaft...

III. 'Mutual Benefit Agreement'

In the recently completed main hall of the manor, Viscount Skoda Mathilde, the current head of the Mathilde family, sat in a chair that barely befitted his noble status, toying with the jade bracelet on his wrist. His slightly gloomy gaze made the servants around him dare not breathe.

"A critical moment."

Viscount Mathilde had used this term more than once in front of the surviving family members, and those family members were well aware of its meaning—after the reconquest of Stormwind, the number of nobles who returned to Stormwind alive was reduced by more than half compared to before the fall of Stormwind.

Therefore, several power vacuums have now emerged in Stormwind City. Although the Kingdom of Stormwind has not yet been fully rebuilt and some power vacuums are not yet visible, these vacuums will become more and more obvious and tempting as time goes by. If anyone can obtain these powers 'hidden beneath the surface' in advance, they will bring their family ten times, or even a hundred times, the benefits in the foreseeable future!

However, acquiring these powers did not come without a price. Of course, the nobles were well aware of the rules of the game, and soon they reached a consensus on who to please.

Countess Prestor, daughter of Grand Duke Prestor, the current King of Alterac, traveled a great distance to Stormwind City to contribute to the reconstruction of the Kingdom of Stormwind, aiming to uphold the traditional friendship between the Kingdom of Stormwind and the Kingdom of Alterac and to reverse the perception of Alterac as a 'traitor' among the human kingdoms. Her aloof appearance, shrewd political maneuvering, and a touch of luck made her a rising star among the nobility after the reconstruction of the Kingdom of Stormwind began!

Naturally, a steady stream of nobles sought to curry favor with Countess Prestor through various means, hoping to gain entry into the powerful political circles of the Stormwind Kingdom or advance further.

The vast majority of nobles failed miserably—Countess Presto's tastes were quite limited, so limited that many nobles were kicked out of their homes without ever figuring out what she liked.

To climb up the ladder, Viscount Mathilde went to great lengths and spent a fortune, forging alliances with several ambitious nobles, and finally obtained the correct answer: Countess Presto preferred dark-colored jewelry, especially the kind that was as black as ink, which was her favorite.

'Black jewelry? Those are extremely rare, even among jewelry!'

Viscount Mathilde, who used to be in the jewelry business, felt a bit overwhelmed. He knew all too well that without a stable supply line, getting his hands on black jewelry was practically a pipe dream.

Then he met Tannis, who traded between Kamledo and Stormwind, selling luxury goods from Kamledo to Stormwind and buying raw materials from Stormwind to haul back. After a few small trade exchanges, Viscount Matilda was certain of something.